This invention relates to a device for activating an actuating apparatus for an occupant restraining system in automobiles or other vehicles.
In personnel-carrying automobiles, it has been proposed that the bumper or fender is mounted on the vehicle by way of an energy absorbing device of the dash-pot type, and a sensor is provided connected to the occupant restraining system; whereby a fluid pressure medium in the dash-pot is expelled from a chamber through throttles to absorb impact energy of the automobile in the event of an accident, and the sensor is in operative connection with the pressure medium in the chamber which is pressurized during such energy absorption, in order to trigger a control signal to the activating apparatus.
Such a device is known from DT-OS No. 2,242,289. In this device, the sensor is mounted on the vehicle structure separated spatially from the dash-pot. The operative connection of the sensor to the medium in the chamber is obtained through the use of a pipe.
The provision of a pipe is a substantial disadvantage, since a pipe which is not leak-tight or which ruptures at the start of an accident leads to a failure of the occupant restraining system. To cater for such a failure, an additional means, not operated in response to the pressure of the medium of the dash-pot, is necessary for activating the actuating apparatus. This solution is also undesirable.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome these disadvantages.